Ultrasound system and method

A computer-implemented ultrasound method comprising the steps of:

• transmitting a plurality of ultrasound signals from a plurality of elements in a transducer array to a region of interest;
• receiving and sampling a plurality of backscattered ultrasound signals from the region of interest;
• calculating a local phase parameter in the time-domain for each of the plurality of backscattered ultrasound signals, the local phase parameter comprising a time domain difference;
• calculating a center frequency for each of the local phase parameters of the backscattered ultrasound signals in the time domain;
• and
• performing receiver beamforming by summing the center frequencies;
• and
• generating at least one parameter representative of a physical property representative of sizes of cells or components, or a plaque composition, of the region of interested based on the summed center frequencies.

An ultrasound system comprising:

• an ultrasound transducer configured to transmit a plurality of ultrasound signals from a plurality of elements in a transducer array to a region of interest;
• the ultrasound transducer further configured to receive and sample a plurality of backscattered ultrasound signals from the region of interest;
• a processing unit configured to:
• calculate a local phase parameter in the time-domain for each of the plurality of backscattered ultrasound signals, the local phase parameter comprising a time domain difference;
• a beamformer configured to perform receiver beamforming by summing the local phase parameters,
• the processing unit further configured to:
• calculate a center frequency for each of the local phase parameters of the backscattered ultrasound signals in the time domain;
• and
• wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate at least one parameter representative of a physical property representative of sizes of cells or components, or a plaque composition, of the region of interest based on the summed center frequencies.